i think my writing is okay, but the main problem is the minor spelling and grammar, and punctuation mistakes that make my writing worse than what it is. Any advice books you recommend for improving grammar, its some simple elementary shit but i trust ya on the board so...
Let me know if you have any ideas.
truth be told im even a lil self concious at this post i just made thanks
charles
A good starting point might be to capitalize the first letter of each sentence.
Your best bet is to bully some egghead into checking the grammar for you. My sister is a kindergarten teacher, and she's constantly sending me things to proofread for her (letters to parents, etc...). It takes me about a minute to catch any egregious errors, so it's not much of a burden.
Also, you should have paid more attention in school.
Thanks you guys, i even appreciate the sarcasm.I am already learning.
"The Elements of Style" is a pretty simple grammar guide. I wouldn't worry too much about that shit, though. Just start writing and reading, and do whatever feels right, until you find a better way to do it.
Is this where the Inglorious Basterds reference goes?
Just write, man. Fix it in post.
The Transitive Vampire is really enjoyable. How old are you? Are you in high school or college?
AP Styleguide and the Turabian Manual are good starting points.Originally Posted by charles
Spell Check is my savior. Also, the more you read the better your vocabulary will be, and your writing will inevitably improve.
Typos and wrong phonetic guesses are forgivable. But what makes me automatically suspect someone is retarded is when they confuse its/it's/its', your/you're, there/their/they're, weather/whether, etc. You made one of those errors in your post, so it will probably help you a lot to memorize those. Really hammer them into your brain.
Otherwise, I think you're on the right track by actually giving a shit and recognizing that this stuff matters. Keep using spellcheck, and be glad you aren't this lazy twit: http://devilspanties.keenspot.com/spelling.html
Ouch.
I consider myself a pretty smart person with a solid vocabulary and a working knowledge of grammatical rules. I also happen to type rather fast. Every so often, I'll look back at something that I've typed and I'll notice that I've typed the wrong form of its/it's/its', your/you're or there/their/they're. Not THAT often--but the sheer volume of how much I type in my life means that from time to time I'll make a mistake.
It certainly isn't because I don't know the correct form...and, quite frankly, it isn't because I'm retarded.
Even a smart person can make mistakes.
pg--A smarter person fixes those mistakes, trains themselves to proofread what they write and recognizes that these things ARE important to clearly communicating your ideas. I'm forever working on that stuff.--seattle
Is there really such a thing as "its'", with the apostrophe after the "s"? I've never seen that. How is it used?
no
"The Elements of Style" by Strunk & White. It is a bible for all writers. Never leave home without it.
i am young, more focused 26 year old whos currently going currently going back to school.
Since i got back into reading it has helped.
For someone who wants to be a comedic,getting better is something that is very important to me. Ill write a sketch or an essay and the content will be there you know...Ill let a friend read it and nine times out of ten hell say this is pretty good, but you got some minor grammar errors.I hear my work is good but you have minor grammar problems all the time and since i hear it more often than not, its become a problem.
The good thing is that is fixable.
thanks
Yall are the homies
charles
Really, I'd say just write. Just don't be afraid to ask someone to proofread your work for you. Once you see the errors you've been making, you'll eventually stop making them.
First: take the English Comp classes. If you give a shit, you can learn a lot. Most people just do enough to get by.
I majored in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. I learned little in the CW classes, but here's the other classes that helped:
Screenwriting: The screenwriting classes actually cover how to build a story arc. You will NEVER hear this in a creative writing course, strangely enough.
Drama: I took a course called "craft of playwriting" and we focused on character, conflict, and building one very good scene. I learned a lot here. It changed the way I wrote poetry, strangely enough.
Speech: A dull course, like typing class was, that ended up being very beneficial to me. It's like an open mic at 9AM. Horrible. But I actually use what I learned there.
Critical Thinking: I took this as a GE requirement. Look for a philosophy course that's entry level that discusses argument forms. Somehow, this also helped my writing. Helped me make a point, rather than my natural tendency to ramble and tangent.
Mythology: Some course at your school requires Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. It's an odd book. I thought it was horribly written but had brilliant ideas in it, that I still think about constantly.
hope this helps.
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